Blankenese
Maker and role
Artist: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German, 1880-1938
Year
1910
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Object detail
Media/Materials
Lithograph
Measurements
image, 13 x 15 1/8in (33 x 38.4cm)
Credit line
Bequest of Ruth S. Magurn
Accession number
1991.24
Object type
Department
Location
Further information
In this beautiful lithograph printed on yellow paper, Kirchner turns his attention to Blankenese, a busy port city on the River Elbe near Hamburg. Two large clouds of dark, black ink sit on either side of the composition. They appear, at first, to be patches of fog or plumes of smoke from the steamships in the harbor, but are, in fact, trees near the riverbank. One can just make out the trunk of the large tree at the left. Together, they frame the composition: the water of the Elbe extends out from the bank, past a number of small craft at anchor or tied to the shore, to a large ship with a single smoke stack on the distant horizon. Though clearly representational, the print could easily be read as an abstract, formal exercise balancing line and tone. The large, black forms of the trees framing the composition are nearly flat while the small sailboats in the harbor are described with a few quick lines that look like simple, gestural marks. This is a print that foreshadows the coming of nonrepresentational art just a few years later.
Documentation
Modern Art at the McNay: A Brief History and Pictorial Survey of the Collection; William J. Chiego; 2001; p. 81
From Goya to Johns: Fifty Master Prints from the McNay Art Museum; Lyle W. Williams, Richard Hemphill, William J. Chiego; 2004; p. 64
E. L. Kirchner: Das Graphische Werk; Wolf-Dieter Dube; 1967; 155
From Goya to Johns: Fifty Master Prints from the McNay Art Museum; Lyle W. Williams, Richard Hemphill, William J. Chiego; 2004; p. 64
E. L. Kirchner: Das Graphische Werk; Wolf-Dieter Dube; 1967; 155
Subject period
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